What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper • Hacker News Board

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#211

Post by Endy » Mon, May 20, 2019, 1:30 AM UTC

FabHK wrote: post #82

guitarbill wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wikipedia article used quite similar wording and images, and you can click through to some more topics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylospongium

TIL that "In the middle of the first century Seneca reported that a Germanic gladiator had committed suicide with a sponge on a stick. The German hid himself in the latrine of an amphitheater and pushed the wooden stick into his gullet and choked to death."

In that alone Seneca thus reported that Roman culture had every right to be dismantled. If you push a man so far that he'll kill himself with a sponge recently up someone's butt, your entire society has gone too far.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#212

Post by tasty_freeze » Mon, May 20, 2019, 2:53 AM UTC

sneak wrote: post #190

tasty_freeze wrote: post #133

I have read the glowing endorsements of bidets on reddit and HN for a long time. I've researched after-market bidets that would be suitable for my bathroom. I've bookmarked a few that seem suitable and have good reviews. But there is one thing which stops me. I'm not sure of the exact details. Even in this thread, I don't know the brass tacks of using one. Do I turn on the sprayer and that is that? Or do I mechanical…

The one I have attaches under the seat, and sends a little jet of water up at what I imagine is about a 45 degree angle. It would make the opposite wall wet (with clean water) if I ever turned it on not sitting on it, which I haven’t. Mine isn’t fancy, it doesn’t use power, just water pressure. The only setting is for front (for people without a penis) or for back (for everyone with an anus), and a knob for pressure.…

Fantastic -- just what I was looking for!

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#213

Post by CaptainMarvel » Mon, May 20, 2019, 9:03 AM UTC

frosted-flakes wrote: post #171

crankylinuxuser wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They wash their hands. What's so gross about them going extra lengths to cleanse themselves? Its not like they're going to then ignore their very hands, considering for many, its a religious law to be clean. It seems like bidet fear but 10x. For no good reason.

Have you ever got poop on your hands? That smell does not go away with just soap and water.

I think for millions of people around the world who get poop on their hands daily, the smell does go away.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#214

Post by gingabriska » Mon, May 20, 2019, 10:22 AM UTC

firekvz wrote: post #105

Funny story, as a Venezuelan and having toilet paper shortages I was forced to go water and soap. Never comming back, not even with all the toilet paper in the world The feeling is shared with alot of friends (we joke about this as a way to keep the good mood agains the crisis) but a lot of people have realized that toilet paper is not the correct way plus a huge waste of money (we have to pay around 0.5$ per roll no…

Sometime back I remember reading a paper where it was hypothesised that using hands is less hygienic than using toilet paper.

And to demonstrate this they used human stature (height) as a way to workout the effect of this practise on health and well being, and the results were constinent with the hypothesis.

Conclusion: People are taller in the countries where toilet paper is used.

Unfortunately, few minutes of googling didn't turn up any links now.

The problem with using hands is that the people often shortcut and do not wash hands properly now if you don't use hands, then this entire problem disappears.

What do you value more, then money spent on toilet paper or the time spent washing your hands properly?

The law of life is that people will often take shortcuts where it is possible to take one and along the way suffer consequences which weren't in their mind at that point because all they wanted to achieve then is to get through this fast enough to do something else later.

To get best of both, there can be a service where someone else washes you but then you lose privacy and you need to allow others to touch you but then it's also possible if that person's health suffers then you might also suffer on subsequent contact.

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#215

Post by DanBC » Mon, May 20, 2019, 10:25 AM UTC

gingabriska wrote: post #214

firekvz wrote: post #105

Funny story, as a Venezuelan and having toilet paper shortages I was forced to go water and soap. Never comming back, not even with all the toilet paper in the world The feeling is shared with alot of friends (we joke about this as a way to keep the good mood agains the crisis) but a lot of people have realized that toilet paper is not the correct way plus a huge waste of money (we have to pay around 0.5$ per roll no…

Sometime back I remember reading a paper where it was hypothesised that using hands is less hygienic than using toilet paper. And to demonstrate this they used human stature (height) as a way to workout the effect of this practise on health and well being, and the results were constinent with the hypothesis. Conclusion: People are taller in the countries where toilet paper is used. Unfortunately, few minutes of googl…

Aren't they just correlating poverty?

Re: What Ancient Romans Used Instead of Toilet Paper

#216

Post by mises » Tue, May 21, 2019, 2:47 PM UTC

Noumenon72 wrote: post #43

rayiner wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it’s a nice high pressure jet of warm water. At least in Tokyo, toilet paper is also provided, and you can double check by wiping after. They’re definitely going in when we redo the bathrooms in our house.

This misrepresents it, at least in my disappointing experience. The jet is nowhere near powerful enough to spray off poop. You are going to be getting most of it with your fingers and the jet just helps wash it away.

> getting most of it with your fingers

Please tell me you don't mean this like it appears you do...